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Employability and Personal Initiative as Antecedents of Job Satisfaction
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In a changing and flexible labour market it is important to clarify the role of environmental and personal variables that contribute to obtaining adequate levels of job satisfaction. The aim of the present study is to analyze the direct effects of employability and personal initiative on intrinsic, extrinsic and social job satisfaction, clarifying their cumulative and interactive effects. The study has been carried out in a sample of 1319 young Spanish workers. Hypotheses were tested by means of the moderated hierarchical regression analysis. Results show that employability and personal initiative predict in a cumulative way the intrinsic, extrinsic and social job satisfaction. Moreover, the interaction between employability and personal initiative increases the prediction of these two variables on intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction. Results also indicate that higher values of employability when initiative is also high are associated to higher levels of intrinsic and extrinsic satisfaction. These results have implications for theory and practice in a context of new employment relations.
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... By addressing social inequalities and fostering inclusivity and diversity, social initiatives have the potential to enhance global employability. Gamboa et al. (2009) indicated that higher values of personal initiatives are associated with higher levels of intrinsic and extrinsic satisfaction. Similarly, According to Lu (2021), social initiatives may address the worldwide issue of precarious labour by enhancing worker skills, access to social security services, health and well-being, and working environment circumstances. ...
In a constantly changing global labour market, employees must develop requisite skills to fulfil the demands of the global industry. Students and higher education institutions are preparing students with knowledge and skills to be employable upon graduation. Internationalisation at Home (IaH) is one of the internationalisations drive by higher educational institutions in Malaysia to equip students with chances to benefit by increasing the potential for employment in the global community. Personality traits under the lens of 3279 multicultural personality have been recognised as one of the most important factors determining how individuals react to cultural differences. By drawing on Mentenhauser's System Perspectives and Theory of Student Involvement, this study examined the effect of IaH and multicultural personality on students' global employability. The study also assessed the mediating role of university support in either strengthening or weakening the relationship. Data collected from a survey involving 403 final-year students was analysed using structural equation modelling. The findings indicated a positive association between multicultural personality and students' global employability. Additionally, positive effects between IaH and global employability were found, mediated by the role of university support. .
... According to research, workers who have a higher sense of employability are more productive at work, get more praise and recognition from superiors and peers, and have access to better career possibilities, all of which help them make better career decisions [30]. University students' employability is substantially predicted by their self-efficacy in making career decisions [31]. ...
This research investigates the relationships between employability, career decision-making self-efficacy and career management among university students in the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau. The objective of this study is to comprehend how these elements interact and have an impact on one another regarding students' professional growth. A systematic questionnaire survey was conducted using validated measures created by experts to guarantee validity and reliability. Information was gathered from 631 university students in the Greater Bay Area. The study used a quantitative research approach to assess the correlations among the important variables—individual career management, employability and self-efficacy in making career decisions by statistically analyzing the data obtained. The data suggest that career management greatly improves students' employability. Furthermore, employability is greatly impacted by individual career management which also has a favourable effect on professional decision-making self-efficacy. Notably, employability and personal career management are mediated by self-efficacy in professional decision-making. Education departments, institutions and students should collaborate to emphasize the importance of individual career management. Providing tools and support can enhance students' employability and self-efficacy in making informed career choices.
... Gli autori presentano un elenco di competenze particolarmente richieste: problem solving, lavoro di gruppo, comunicazione verbale e scritta, pensiero critico, controllo e gestione, competenze interpersonali, disponibilità al cambiamento, project management. Alla luce di tali evidenze, è sottoli-neato da molta letteratura che per migliorare la qualità della vita lavorativa e favorire l'occupazione sia necessaria la promozione di programmi educativi che consentano lo sviluppo di un insieme di capacità e di competenze trasversali (soft skill) che rendano gli individui maggiormente occupabili (De Vos et al., 2011;Gamboa et al., 2009;Mäkikangas et al., 2013). Programmi educativi dove siano centrali, per una buona occupabilità della persona, sia le competenze auto-orientative (pensare e scegliere consapevolmente il proprio futuro), sia quelle di progettazione e ri-progettazione di sé (life design) (Grimaldi et al., 2014). ...
Il concetto di “cittadinanza attiva”, pressoché inutilizzato nel nostro Paese fino agli anni Novanta, ha incontrato una certa fortuna sin dai primi anni di questo secolo ed è ormai utilizzato correntemente nel dibattito pubblico (e politico), oltre che in ambito accademico e istituzionale, come concetto-chiave del discorso sulla partecipazione dei cittadini alla vita sociale e civile. E’ possibile sostenere che il concetto di “cittadinanza attiva” è ormai entrato a pieno titolo nel dibattito sulle competenze (trasversali o chiave), da un lato, e nel dibattito sulla coesione e inclusione sociale in termini ecologici, dall’altro. In questo quadro, i primi dati sviluppati dal CRELL sul livello di cittadinanza attiva dei Paesi europei nel 2009 mostravano una forte correlazione fra i livelli di produttività (GDP/PIL), l’occupazione (employement rate) e i livelli di Cittadinanza Attiva rilevati (ACCI level). In questa scia anche l’INAPP ha svolto in anni recenti un’indagine campionaria sui giovani che hanno svolto il Servizio Civile, rilevando i livelli di “cittadinanza attiva” e i livelli di “occupabilità” dei giovani intervistati: i risultati mostrano un’importante relazione fra le due dimensioni, così da far ritenere che, al pari dei livelli di occupabilità, al crescere dei livelli di cittadinanza attiva, aumenti la probabilità di trovare un’occupazione.
... Additionally, the value of positive interactions in the workplace highlights the need for inclusive and supportive work environments [27,31]. Perceived employability and personal initiative are also essential for achieving job satisfaction, pointing out that family support can play a pivotal role in fostering these attributes [32]. The detrimental impact of job insecurity on job satisfaction and overall well-being further emphasizes the need for a proper alignment between individual capabilities and job requirements [33]. ...
Down syndrome is the most prevalent genetic condition contributing to intellectual disability. Advancements in medical care have significantly increased the life expectancy of people with this condition, making employment a vital component for independent living and quality of life. The aim of this study was to examine the current literature on the employability and employment experiences of individuals with Down syndrome, focusing on the evolution of the employment rate and factors influencing employment such as cognitive and personal factors, societal attitudes, challenges, and effective support systems. Using Arksey and O’Malley's methodology, a scoping review of relevant qualitative and quantitative articles from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science (WoS), CINAHL, and Medline was conducted. The search focused on the keywords found in the title and abstract of articles from 1980 to 2023. The search strategy utilized medical subject headings (MeSH), including "work", "Down syndrome", and "employment". All articles employing qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods that were published in English were included. Of an initial 4,296 articles, 32 full-text articles were evaluated, and nine met the inclusion criteria. The data indicated improved employment rates for people with Down syndrome, with a recent employment rate of 53%. However, jobs are often limited to sectors like food service and are underutilizing their skills. Key factors associated with employment status include cognitive abilities, family support, and social attitudes. Despite positive perceptions, significant barriers such as systemic bias persist. Effective support systems are crucial but are often hindered by limited opportunities. In conclusion, employment opportunities for people with Down syndrome have improved, but challenges such as limited job diversity and systemic barriers remain. Comprehensive policies are recommended to promote inclusive employment practices and tailored support systems.
... Whether the individual knowledge, skills, and attitude of the education administrator are suitable for education management is a question that needs to be mutually addressed. Organizational efforts to include and select competent, adequate, and qualified training managers in accordance with normative regulations are among the issues raised (Gamboa et al., 2009).We can say that the key word of being a suitable person for the job is "merit". Merit is the inclusion of competent and business-savvy people in the system as training managers (Uzun, 2004). ...
Bu çalışmanın amacı, belirsizlik yönetiminin işle bütünleşme, inisiyatif alma ve kariyer planlaması üzerindeki etkisini tahlil etmektir. Araştırmada, açıklayıcı sıralı karma yöntem deseninin takip eden açıklamalar alt deseni kullanılmış ve süreç öncelikle nicel verilerin toplanması, ardından da nicel sonuçların geniş kapsamlı nitel veriyle desteklenmesini içermiştir. Araştırmanın nicel kısmı betimsel ve ilişkisel tarama modeli, nitel kısmı ise durum çalışmasının iç içe geçmiş tek durum çalışması desenine göre, genel olarak ise karma durum çalışması olarak tasarlanmıştır. Araştırmanın nicel kısım örneklemi Konya ili Karatay, Meram ve Selçuklu ilçelerinde görev yapan eğitim yöneticilerinden küme ve basit tesadüfi örnekleme alma yöntemiyle; nitel kısım örneklemi nicel kısım örneklemi içerisinde yer alan eğitim yöneticilerinden gönüllük esasına dayalı olarak amaçlı örneklem yöntemlerinden ölçüt örnekleme alma yöntemiyle seçilmiştir. Araştırmanın nicel verileri BY, İA, İB, KP ölçekleri ile nitel verileri ise araştırmada kullanılmak üzere hazırlanmış yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu ile toplanmıştır. Nicel kısım için betimsel ve çıkarımsal istatistikler, nitel kısım için ise tema, betimsel ve içerik analizleri yapılmıştır. Araştırmanın nicel kısmında belirsizlik yönetimi üzerinde işle bütünleşme, inisiyatif alma ve kariyer planlamasının etkisinin olduğu; nitel kısmında ise eğitim yöneticilerinin belirsizliği yönetebilmeleri, işle bütünleşebilmeleri, inisiyatif alabilmeleri ve kariyer planlaması yapabilmeleri için, yetkin, yeterli ve nitelikli eğitim yöneticilerinin liyakat esaslı ve adaletli olarak seçilmesi gerektiği sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.
... Individuals who have personal initiative focus on long-term goals in life and focus on achieving these goals. Individuals with high personal initiative tend to behave proactively by making an effort more challenging (Gamboa et al., 2009), creative, and satisfying, even when they need to get another job (Fay & Frese, 2001). We are suspect that harmonious passion indirectly affects personal initiative through love for his work. ...
Protean careers are understood and measured using different concepts. Apart from being confusing, it also causes divergences that result in limited operationalization of the protean career. O This study aims to develop a more comprehensive tool for measuring protean careers by examining the nomological network of ‘new’ protean career attitudes. Researchers added a measure of the affective component of love for work, in addition to dimensions driven by self-values and self-directed behavior. The results of the construct validity test through a nomological network involving 160 respondents showed two critical points. First, on the relationship between the dimensions, the dimensions of love for work and self-direction behavior are related to the harmonious passion variable and the proactive work behavior of career initiatives and personal initiatives. Second, the relationship within the dimension shows that the dimensions of love for work, driven by self-values, and self-directed behavior are interrelated. Additional validity tests, such as convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity tests, indicate that the question items are valid. Future research needs to pay more attention to the affective dimensions of love for work and harmonious passion.e.
... Los anteriores resultados pueden explicarse gracias a que la empleabilidad está relacionada con un elevado valor de los individuos empleables en el mercado laboral y por tanto, con la capacidad de elegir los mejores trabajos y negociar las condiciones laborales. En este sentido, el valor de mercado de las personas empleables puede, por su parte, estar determinado por el hecho de que estas personas cuentan con un alto capital humano y otras características personales que les permiten hacer una búsqueda de empleo adecuada, responder a las demandas de la empresa y llevar a cabo su trabajo de forma eficiente (Gamboa et al., 2009). ...
... Baer and Frese (2003) also defend that organisational climate affects the personal initiative behaviour significantly. In their study Gamboa et al. (2009) investigate how personal initiative affects the level of job satisfaction. In the study a significant relationship is determined between the level of job satisfaction and personal initiative status; they reveal that those employees having high personal initiatives would have higher job satisfaction. ...
Job satisfaction among employees requires both intrinsic and extrinsic factors that need
adequate attention by stakeholders to build institutional goals and performance. This study
was conducted using qualitative research methods based on case studies and using the
intrinsic and extrinsic factors of job satisfaction as the context for the collection of research
data. A total of 20 staffs were interviewed consisting of Store’s Manager, Communications
Director, Technical Officer, Librarian, Audit officer, Transport Manager, Security officer, Public
relations officer, 2 Information Technology officer’s, Accountant, Graphic designer, Front desk
executive, Personal assistant to the Head of department (marketing), Secretary (school of
marketing), procurement officer, Administrative assistant, Secretary in Assistant registrar’s
office, Administrative secretary, and Photographer. Data were collected through in-depth
semi-structured interviews supported by relevant information from participant observation,
document analysis and field notes. The data was then analyzed and given codes, categories
and sub-themes to develop main themes to answer each research question. In conclusion,
job satisfaction among staffs can help increases performance of staffs.
Keywords: Job Satisfaction, Job Performance, University Staff, Nigeria
Idiosyncratic employment arrangements (i-deals) stand to benefit the individual employee as well as his or her employer. However, unless certain conditions apply, coworkers may respond negatively to these arrangements. We distinguish functional i-deals from their dysfunctional counterparts and highlight evidence of i-deals in previous organizational research. We develop propositions specifying both how i-deals are formed and how they impact workers and coworkers. Finally, we outline the implications i-deals have for research and for managing contemporary employment relationships.
The concept of 'employability' plays a crucial role in informing labour market policy in the UK, the EU and beyond. This paper analyses current and previous applications of the term and discusses its value as an exploratory concept and a framework for policy analysis. It then traces the development of the concept, discusses its role in current labour market and training strategies (with particular reference to the UK) and seeks to identify an approach to defining employability that can better inform labour market policy, by transcending explanations of employment and unemployment that focus solely on either supply-side or demand-side factors. Although the literature offers a range of definitions of 'employability', many policy-makers have recently used the term as shorthand for 'the individual's employability skills and attributes'. It is argued that this 'narrow' usage can lead to a 'hollowing out' of the concept of employability. The paper concludes by presenting a broad framework for analysing employability built around individual factors, personal circumstances and external factors, which acknowledges the importance of both supply- and demand-side factors.
Personal initiative, a concept akin to entrepreneurship and organizational spontaneity, was compared in East and West Germany, Differences were hypothesized to be the results of occupational socialization, particularly of work control and complexity, rather than of a selection effect. A representative longitudinal study was conducted in the East and a cross-sectional study in the West. Lower initiative at work was found in the East; control and complexity affected changes in initiative, The results speak for socialization and against selection.
This review analyzes how the changing nature of careers can be conceptualized by examining two major categories of careers research. Specifically, the developmental stage theories of Super (1957) and Levinson (1978, 1986, 1996) and the boundaryless career concept (Arthur & Rousseau, 1996) are used to assess our understanding of careers in today’s dynamic work environment. Directions for future research on existing topics, as well as five major recommendations for a new research agenda, are offered.
Including contributions from leading scholars at Harvard Business School, Yale, and MIT's Sloan School of Management, this book explores the ways that careers have changed for workers as their firms reorganize to meet global competition. As firms re-engineer, downsize, enter into strategic alliances with other firms, and find other ways to reduce costs, they frequently lay off workers. Job security has been replaced by insecurity and workers have been forced to take charge of their own career development in ways they have never done before. The contributors to the book analyse the implications for these workers, who now have "boundary less careers". While many find the challenge rewarding as they find new opportunities for growth, others are finding it difficult to adapt to new jobs in new locations. The book looks at policy issues that can provide safety nets for those who are not able to find a place in the new world of boundary less careers.
This article reports on the development of a concept of personal initiative (PI). Personal initiative is a work behavior defined as self-starting and proactive that overcomes barriers to achieve a goal. It is argued that future workplaces will require people to show more PI than before, and that current concepts of performance and organizational behavior are more reactive than desirable. The facets of PI are developed along the lines of goals, information collection, plans, and feedback. Personal initiative enables people to deal with job difficulties more actively, for example, with stressors, unemployment, career changes, or becoming an entrepreneur. High PI changes the work situation of employees and relates to success as an entrepreneur. Personal initiative is seen to sharpen and partly modify the concepts of reciprocal determinism, organizational citizenship behavior, innovation, entrepreneurship, work performance, intrinsic motivation, and self-regulation.
Personal initiative is conceptualized as a behavioural syndrome made up of several factors. It is important for organizational effectiveness and is one aspect of ‘contextual performance’. The construct validity of a set of interview- and questionnaire-based scales for measuring initiative was ascertained in interrelated studies (two waves from a longitudinal study in East Germany [N = 543] and a cross-sectional study in West Germany [N = 160]). As hypothesized, initiative correlated with partners' assessments, need for achievement, action orientation, problem-focused and passive emotion-focused coping, career planning and executing plans, but not with job satisfaction. Higher initiative existed in small-scale entrepreneurs in the East and in those unemployed who got a job more quickly.